Reclaimed Antique Heart Pine Flooring

We were asked by a client to provide flooring for his lovely home just outside of Savannah. He wanted mixed heart pine flooring with a great degree of character and texture, and did not mind if it were somewhat atypical.

Some of our most interesting flooring comes from original 19th century floors salvaged from historic homes in Savannah. Their age typically spans between 1830s and 1870s, throughout which they bore many layers of wax, paint, polish, finishes and stains. Looking at just one piece reveals at least of hundred years of changing taste and new purpose.

For him, we selected the correct boards for the floor, resized them to fit, and installed them. To keep the patina, we just lightly sanded them, applied a sealing oil, and waxed them. The result was quite stunning.

Reclaimed Heart Pine Cladding

While working on the floors, we were then asked to cover the 30 foot steel support beams with heart pine, so that the character of the flooring was matched from above. Our idea was to take saw-marked offcuts from cutting beams into floors, and apply them to the steel beam. To the eye, it looks as if there are massive 30 feet of antique heart pine suspended above, which is a very rare sight to see.

Twin Mantels

While Mr. Turner was visiting our shop, he saw a mantel we were finishing and asked for two for his own fireplaces. The difference was that he needed to identical seven foot beams, five inches by ten inches, and saw marked. After rummaging around the shop to find pieces large enough, we almost worried that the fireplace wouldn't hold the weight. Thankfully it was an old brick mantle, able to bear quite large loads. Cut and finished, it looked very nice after installation: